UW Health’s pediatric primary care clinics increased from five to six on November 1, 2024, with the addition of newly renamed UW Health Kids Beaver Dam. Known previously as Community Pediatrics of Beaver Dam, it was founded in September 2005 by Elizabeth (Betsy) Peterson, MD, a pediatrician with a special interest in ADHD, when there was a great need in the area for pediatricians. It grew from small beginnings of only one exam room, one receptionist, and one nurse to seeing over 500 patients in only a few months. Today it serves more than 4,000 children in the area. Peterson and her colleagues considered forging a connection with UW Health Kids to be the best way to most effectively serve the clinic’s growing patient population and maintain the most skilled and resilient staff possible.
Peterson and her two physician colleagues, as well as the clinic’s staff of five LPNs, one CMA, and an administrative assistant, have all joined UW Health as employees. Peterson, Jessica (Jessie) Miesfeld, MD, MPH, and Jay Miesfeld, MD, all three now assistant professors in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, continue to serve their patients in clinic without a hiccup in the transition.
“Our goal was to continue to provide the great care our patients expect, with some improvements,” Jessie Miesfeld explained. “All of us trained with the UW, in the medical school or in residency, so we have a great respect for and a good relationship with the UW. Being part of that team is an excellent boost. We now have more access and easier communication with specialists, and all of our information is in the same system.” She noted that having access to all of UW Health’s substantial resources has been a big benefit. “It’s something all of us wanted for a while,” Miesfeld added.
The clinic has joined the constellation of UW Health pediatric primary care clinics located within Madison and just beyond — at 20 South Park, East Terrace, Junction Road, Union Corners, in Stoughton to the south, and now in Beaver Dam to the north.
In early November, when the clinic transitioned to its new connection with UW Health Kids, Megan Neuman, MD, professor in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, began making weekly visits to Beaver Dam to assist the staff in new administrative protocols and any questions and concerns they had. Neuman is the division’s clinical service chief, overseeing the six UW Health pediatric primary care clinics previously mentioned.
While the physicians and staff of the Beaver Dam clinic needed no assistance in medical practices, other aspects of the new connection with UW Health required some guidance. The practices, procedures, and protocols of UW Health were a large and different administrative realm compared to that of the small, independent Community Pediatrics practice.
“I was there as operational support for the physicians,” Neuman explained. “I offered logistical support — answering questions, smoothing their path, and generally helping them figure out the lay of the land. They saw less of me in December as they got up on their feet.”
“Because UW Health has had primary care for adults in its family and internal medicine clinics in Beaver Dam, the new clinic completes the complement of UW Health primary care services, making it more comprehensive,” Neuman said. “It makes access to UW Health primary care available to more kids, as we already had other kinds of primary care in the area.”
Neuman added that she knows that UW Health provides excellent pediatric primary care. “The more kids in the state who can directly receive that care, the better,” she said.